sprinkler-system
I noticed a small leak of water when I turned on the sprinkler system this year. The leak seems to be coming from the top of the pressure vacuum breaker. Note this is not the exact picture of what I am dealing with, its the closest I could find online:
There are two screws at the top of this thing, should I be turning off the water and unscrewing these two screws…what could possibly be broken causing this leak? I really respect plumbers because boy do I hate leaks…
There could be a clog in the lines feeding some of the sprinklers, or clogged up sprinkler heads.
If you don't notice any dirt or gunk coming out, and the pressure does not increase in the low flowing outlets. Cap the working outlets, and turn the system back on. If you still don't notice a difference, you might have to dig up the lines to inspect them.
The line feeding some of the sprinklers could have been crushed, damaged, or broken.
If the pressure in the low flow heads does not increase, you'll likely have to dig up the lines and inspect them.
It could just be that the system does not have enough pressure for all the heads to work simultaneously.
If each time you cap an outlet you notice the pressure increase in the low flow heads, it could be that there is just not enough pressure to operate all the heads at once. In this case you might have to have the system split into zones, and only run one zone at a time.
I'm not sure who the idiot was who put this down that hole, but it was pretty firmly lodged in there. I cut off a bit more of the PVC and was able to get my trusty pry bar in the notch and turn it. After about three quarters of a turn the stupid thing came out. And sure enough, there was a regular stop and waste down there underneath whatever the heck this is.
Best Answer
If you turn off the water to your sprinkler system you can them remove those two screws and take off the top of the pressure vacuum breaker. Inside you should see an O-ring that makes a nice seal. Check that the O-ring is in good condition and then also look for things like spider webs or wasp nests that are preventing a good seal.
If water is flowing into the sprinkler system the O-ring of the pressure vacuum breaker will prevent the water from leaking out. If water flows the reverse direction, the pressure vacuum breaker will open and prevent the water from going back into your house (and you drinking it). So if something is blocking the O-ring from making a good seal, then you could end up with a leak.